Fuel Cells

Characterizing the structure and stretching frequencies of Nafion using infrared spectroscopy.

Research Overview

Nafion is an ionomer which is utilized as a proton exchange membrane. A proton exchange
membrane allows protons to move across while preventing other materials from moving through and an
ionomer is a polymer that contains ions. In the case of Nafion the polymer is teflon and the ionic
group is a sulfonic acid. Research in characterizing the structure of Nafion has been ongoing since
the 1980s through analytical and modeling techniques such as small-angle x-ray scattering, density
functional theory, and spectroscopy. There are multiple models that exist which are equally valid.